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General Information
Area: 64,589 sq km (24,938 sq miles).
Population: 2,379,934 (official estimate 2000).
Population Density: 36.8 per sq km.
Capital: Riga. Population: 766,464 (official estimate 2000).
GEOGRAPHY: Latvia is situated on the Baltic coast and borders Estonia in the north, Lithuania in the south, the Russian Federation in the east and Belarus in the southeast. The coastal plain is mostly flat, but inland to the east the land is hilly with forests and lakes. There are about 12,000 rivers in Latvia, the biggest being the River Daugava. The ports of Riga, Liepaja and Ventspils often freeze over during the winter.
Government: Republic. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Head of State: President Vaira Vike-Freiberga since 1999. Head of Government: Prime Minister Einars Repse since 2002.
Language: Latvian is the official language. It is an Indo-European, non-Slavic and non-Germanic language and is similar only to Lithuanian. Russian is the mother tongue of over 30 per cent of the population and is understood by most people. English and German may also be understood.
Religion: Predominantly Protestant (Lutheran) with Roman Catholic communities in the east of the country. There is also a Russian Orthodox minority.
Time: GMT + 2. (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style two-pin plugs are in use.
Telephone
IDD is available. Country code: 371. Outgoing international code: 00. Directory enquiries: 09. International calls can be made from telephone booths. Payphones are operated by phonecards which can be purchased at kiosks, post offices and in some shops.
Mobile telephone
GSM 1800 and 900 networks operated by LMT GSM (website: www.lmt.lv) and Tele2 (website: www.tele2.lv). Roaming agreements exist. It is illegal to use a mobile telephone while driving.
Fax
Facilities are available in the main post office in Riga (for address, see below).
Internet
Main ISPs include Apollo (website: www.apollo.lv). There are many Internet cafes in Riga and some in other towns.
Telegram
Services are available from all post offices and the hotel service bureau. For services from public phones, dial 06.
Post
The main post office is at Brivibas bulvaris 19 (open 24 hours). Postboxes are yellow. Airmail to Western Europe takes three to four days. General post office opening hours are Mon-Fri 0900-1800 and Sat 0900-1300.
Press
There are Latvian and Russian newspapers – Diena, Dienas Bizness and Neatkariga Rita Avize are the most popular Latvian titles while Respublica and Chas are the most popular Russian ones. The Baltic Times is an English-language paper published weekly.
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.
BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice):
Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov):
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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